Column: Who will play for BCS title?

Monday

Oct 22, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 22, 2012 at 9:17 PM

College football is reaching the point of the season where every spot in the polls — and computer rankings used in the Bowl Championship Series standings — takes on incredible meaning as the race for the national championship heats up.

Eleven unbeatens remain in college football, but the number of contenders from that group is actually smaller. With the Ohio Bobcats, two Big East teams, Mississippi State and an Ohio State team on probation among the undefeated, only six of those teams have legitimate title hopes.

Clark Leonard

College football is reaching the point of the season where every spot in the polls — and computer rankings used in the Bowl Championship Series standings — takes on incredible meaning as the race for the national championship heats up.

Eleven unbeatens remain in college football, but the number of contenders from that group is actually smaller. With the Ohio Bobcats, two Big East teams, Mississippi State and an Ohio State team on probation among the undefeated, only six of those teams have legitimate title hopes.

LSU, Oklahoma, Southern California and Georgia are the one-loss teams with hope — and only if there’s plenty of shakeup among the teams who haven’t lost yet.

Only a few teams have a realistic shot at finishing 12-0 or 13-0 in the regular season.

Top-ranked Alabama, whose only game against a remotely tough team was a 41-14 romp of Michigan in its opener, should live up to expectations and stand 13-0 after a perfect run through the Southeastern Conference and an SEC championship triumph against Florida or Georgia.

Here’s a look at some of the teams chasing a date with the Crimson Tide on Jan. 7 in Miami and how they might finish up. Teams are listed in BCS ranking order.

Prediction: 11-1 overall, 7-1 SEC. The stretch run looks extremely manageable for Florida, but look for it to trip up in a rivalry it has dominated. With all their success thus far, the Gators still don’t seem like a team that can go 12-0 before the SEC championship game.

Kansas State

BCS ranking: 3

Record: 7-0, 4-0 Big 12

Toughest remaining games: Texas Tech, Saturday; Texas, Dec. 1.

Prediction: 12-0, 9-0 Big 12, trip to BCS title game. With victories against Oklahoma and West Virginia already, the Wildcats simply have to keep their focus with five highly winnable conference contests remaining.

Prediction: 12-1, 8-1 Pac-12. Too many tough games remain on the schedule, which also includes a trip to Cal, to expect the Ducks to finish 13-0. Perhaps the toughest challenge is the possibility of facing USC a second time for the Pac-12 title.